


We've Waited So Long

by theangelsace



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Mild Language, Reunion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-05
Updated: 2016-03-05
Packaged: 2018-05-24 22:55:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6169969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theangelsace/pseuds/theangelsace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Danny waits in the airport for Steve to come home after six months apart</p>
            </blockquote>





	We've Waited So Long

Five months, three weeks and two days ago Danny told Steve he loved him, and Steve confessed the same. Of course, it wasn’t the first time either of them had said it, Danny counted that as the time when they had a building collapsed around them, but somehow at the time neither of them had really realised what it had meant. Five months, three weeks and one day ago Steve told him he had been called into the Reserves, with immediate effect. One day after telling Steve he was in love with him, and one day after their first kiss Danny was saying goodbye to him at the airport. When they had been able to talk, it had been brief, and without even the tiniest of hints of where Steve was, or even if he was safe.

Six months of phone calls in the middle of the night, which gave Danny cause to believe Steve was in a completely different time zone, and therefore in an entirely hostile environment, along with Grace asking when he was him coming home and Chin and Kono trying to keep him from worry himself into a stupor. Thing was, Danny didn’t fail to notice their own worried, hushed conversations whenever they thought he couldn’t hear them. Neither of them knew what he and Steve had talked about before he had left, or even that they had spoken since. Though Danny was sure the two of them had their suspicions, both about him being in contact with Steve and the long overdue development in their relationship. After all, just at the end of their first month of working together he had managed to catch the end of a conversation between the two cousins, which he was fairly certain involved the phrases; ‘kiss’, ‘lock’ ‘illegal’, ‘full immunity and means’ and ‘Kono no!’. Danny had learnt to be highly wary of Kono after that, well more so than he was already.

For now, Danny had been sat staring at the monitor in the Honolulu airport arrivals lounge since six o’clock that morning. The chairs were far too uncomfortable to be of any use for more than twenty minutes or so, but most of the time Danny had spent pacing, back and forth from one end of the lounge to the other. After a while he got so familiar with the layout that he barely paid much attention to where he was going. Instead finding he thinking, worrying about Steve, until he had to sit down before he or someone else was hurt. So far, seven flights had come in, none of which had Steve on them. Danny knew his flight was coming in today, that Steve had been able to tell him, but not the time. The next plane to land was due in half an hour, whilst the longest wait for one was seven hours; and knowing Danny’s luck that would be the one that Steve was on.

Any attempts to distract himself of course failed, the book he had picked up from the shop as soon as they had opened had had its first paragraph reread eight times before Danny had given up, and declared it a lost cause. Even though it was one he had been waiting months to get the chance to read.  Plus the airport coffee held nothing compared to that they could get from the café around the corner from the Palace, but still it was better than the stuff that came out of the machines at work, so he drank it, as bitter and tasteless as it was, but after being up since four he couldn’t really complain.

Really, though the book was his attempt at distracting himself from thoughts of Steve coming back bloodied and bruised, Danny had seen that too many times over the years to not have very clear images playing across his mind as the minutes went by. And the only reason he had to wait now to try and occupy his mind was that despite Steve’s absence there had still been multiple attempts to bring Oahu down to its knees. The most recent of which had involved two Samoan gangs, an irate Russian mafia boss, and a gaggle of increasingly trigger happy Yakuza. Danny was only too sure Steve would have been disappointed to miss out on that one. Well, most of it that was, the image of Kono, on the ground, clutching her bleeding arm after being shot was not something he would soon get over. Then again, that had been just over a week ago, and Kono’s arm was still in a sling. The task of keeping her from going surfing, despite her adamant claims that she could with one arm tied behind her back, and Danny knew better than to doubt it, had been shared among the remaining members and additions of Five-O.

The arrival lounge meanwhile was starting to get busy again, with the next flight due in soon; though Danny remained in his seat, not wanting to lose it, as really he didn’t expect Steve to be coming in just yet, and as uncomfortable as they were he found that from his seat he had a pretty decent view of people coming into the lounge from their flight.

“Mind if I sit here” a woman, who Danny figured must be in her eighties asked, pointing to the free seat next to him. Sure there were plenty of seats left, scattered across the room, but Danny figured it would be impolite to refuse.

“Certainly” he agreed.

“Thank you” the woman said “I’m Milly by the way”

“Danny” he offered. If Milly wanted to pass the time by talking with him, then Danny wasn’t going to begrudge that of her, he could just about make out the sound of Steve’s laugh in his head as he thought the word ‘begrudge’. Besides, to her he was just Danny, not Detective Williams, the two of them could talk about anything, and it might just prove to be the thing that would keep him from worrying about Steve.

“My grandchildren aren’t due for another two hours, but I didn’t want to risk missing them, so I was up at five getting ready this morning” Milly began , and if she took out plenty of photos of her grandchildren, both of who were in their mid-thirties, for him to look at, then he would “What about you, dear?” she asked.

“Oh, I’ve been here since six” Danny said, as if though it was nothing. And it wasn’t really, a few more hours of waiting for Steve after six months was the easy part. The hard part, Danny realised was being away from Steve for the longest time since they had met just after saying ‘I love you’ for the first time, not as a way of saying ‘I’m glad we survived’ but as a way of finally being able to fully understand what it meant . “I have no idea, when my… partner” he said with a slight pause, and technically Steve was his partner, so it was hardly as if though he was being dishonest. But for the moment, it was only in the sense of partners at work, rather than anywhere else, but Danny knew that that would change once Steve was back on Hawaiian soil “is getting back in.” And with their track record, Danny thought to himself that was really more worrying than it would otherwise have been.

“He’s in the military, I take it?” Milly asked, surprising Danny with her use of the male pronoun “Oh, don’t look so surprised” she continued, noting Danny’s stunned expression “I have seen a thing or two in my time” something which Danny didn’t doubt for a second.

“Yes he is” Danny replied. Apparently, distracting himself by talking to a complete stranger wasn’t going to go as well as he’d hoped.

 

**********************************************************************************

As it turned out, speaking to Milly whilst she waited for her grandchildren’s flight to come in had been helpful. Having gone through similar experiences herself, she had passed over a few words of wisdom to Danny before changing the subject entirely, mostly to stories of her large family, and by the time their flight arrived, Danny felt as though he knew Bill and Julie personally. He didn’t mind too much though, as he in turn talked as much as he possibly could about Grace. Even sifting through the pictures he had of her on his phone, and the ones in his wallet.

Milly had left a little over an hour ago now, after having formally introduced him to Billy and Julie, among their apologies for her tendency to go and start chatting with random strangers at the drop of a hat, and his assurances that he didn’t mind.

Danny meanwhile had spent the last twenty minutes or so considering if he should go and get some lunch or not. In all honesty, he probably should have considering how he had pretty much skipped breakfast that morning. He knew that waiting for Steve for just another few hours was the easy part, but he reasoned with himself that he was far too worried to keep anything down, anyhow. Even if he also knew that Steve had been in far more dangerous situations. Well he hoped that that was the case at least. After everything that had happened in the last few years, rescuing Steve from Afghanistan and North Korea Danny couldn’t bring himself to think about Steve in such danger again. As for lunch, there wasn’t that much choice around him, and Danny was loathed to go further afield on the off chance that Steve was on the next flight, the one from Amsterdam. That was the other thing; he had absolutely no idea if Steve’s flight was a direct one, or if there was a connection or two somewhere along the line. Because of course, the only thing Steve had told him was the date and that it was a commercial flight. So Danny’s mind was geared to thinking it was the latter.

Counting ceiling tiles though, he reasoned to himself might be taking the boredom levels a step too far. So instead, he started checking his phone for any missed texts. There was just the one from Grace asking if she could bring her science project around to Steve’s that weekend. Of course, Danny had still been going around Steve’s whilst he had been away; to look after the place, and when he had Grace at the weekends the two of them would stay there. It had taken her a little while to understand why he couldn’t tell her where Steve was, or when he would even be coming back exactly, but once she did, she was fine. Or, at least she seemed to be to Danny there were moments when it was clear she was missing having Steve around, and her excitement when he had told her about Steve home didn’t fail to show. Hence his quick reply of ‘sure thing, monkey’ to her text.

Danny was just about to put the phone back in his pocket when it started vibrating, Chin’s face lighting up the screen. The photo was one of him on his wedding day to Malia.

“Hey, Chin. What’s up?” Danny asked, knowing there was every chance he was going to regret it.

“Now, brah” Chin began, with mock innocence “What would make you think something was up?” he asked

“Because the last time you called on a day off, it was to tell me a bomb had been planted at the British Embassy” Danny argued “And the time before that was because the governor’s nephew had been kidnapped” he continued “Then we mustn’t forget that one time when…”

“Yeah, yeah you’ve made your point” Chin interrupted before he had the chance to go any further. “I was just calling, because Kamekono picked up a lead on the stolen gun shipment for us, and Kono and I were wandering if you wanted to come and check it out with us” he offered.

“As much as I’d love to, I’m at the airport right now” he replied, and shit he had forgotten to tell the others about Steve’s flight, though he was surprised that Grace hadn’t told them all.

“Danny, I know you hate Hawaii, but isn’t that a little drastic?” Chin asked

“No, I’m not waiting for a flight out” he explained with an exasperated sigh “Steve’s flight is due in today”

“Oh” was all Chin said in reply “How long have you been there waiting” he asked, though Danny was fairly sure he probably had his suspicions.

“Since six” he answered, figuring there was no point in lying, not to Chin

“Aw, brah you’ve got it bad, don’t you” and it sounded more like a statement than it did a question.

“Yeah” Danny admitted “You and Kono have fun. Don’t do anything Steve and I would do”

“No chance” Chin said, and Danny could hear his laughter over the phone “Aww man, I owe Kono fifty bucks, you two couldn’t have waited another two months?” he said, with sudden realisation

“I thought there was a rule about making bets with Kono?” Danny asked, after the monopoly night there had been need for one

“True, I only have myself to blame” Chin accepted

“Yep, you two have fun” he agreed “Bye”

“Bye” Chin replied, before the two of them hung up their phones, leaving Danny wandering just how many people now owed Kono money.

******************************************************************

Danny thought that if anything was going to wake him up from the quick nap he decided to have, it would be the sound of the woman’s voice coming over the loud speakers again. But, of course he was wrong, because it wasn’t another announcement about not leaving items unattended, or another random stranger deciding to sit next to him and asking if he was Ok, it was Steve.

“Hey, buddy wake up” he heard Steve say, and a part of him was convinced that he must still be asleep, because there was no way Steve was back already. The other part of him though, told him that it was real, because he could feel Steve’s hand resting on his knee. So, when he opened his eyes, it was to see Steve with that goofy grin plastered across his face, and Danny hadn’t realised just how much he had missed seeing it for all these months.

“Hello” he said, bringing his arms around Steve’s neck, not caring that it looked as if though he hadn’t had the chance for a decent wash or shave in about a week, because Steve was here, right in front of him, and as far as Danny could tell he wasn’t hurt, or not seriously at least, because Danny didn’t fail to notice the small wince Steve made when Danny pulled him towards him.

“I’m fine” Steve assured, before Danny could even ask “It’s just some bruising, honestly Danno” Danny knew how Steve liked to play down serious injuries, up to the point where being stabbed anywhere that wasn’t a vital organ was but a scratch. This time though, he could see the honesty in Steve’s expression.

“I missed you” he said, at that point, not caring if there were people watching as he bought his lips to Steve’s

“Me too” Steve replied, once they finally broke the kiss “God Danny, you have no idea” he began, brushing a thumb along Danny’s cheek, brushing away a tear that Danny hadn’t even realised was there.

“I bet, I do” Danny said, with a faint laugh. Steve had yet to move off of the floor, so there he was, still knelt in front of Danny, with both of his hands clasped over Danny’s right, as his left rested on Steve’s shoulder. He found himself wanting to tell Steve about the countless nights he had laid awake worrying, because the few nights when he did manage to sleep only bought nightmares, but he couldn’t, not here at least where there was about fifty people surrounding them. “Come on” he began, pulling Steve to his feet “The Camaro’s outside waiting” he said, handing the keys over to Steve without hesitation.

“So what did I miss?” Steve asked, as the two of them made their way through the airport.

“Oh not a lot” Danny said, with a wave of his hand “Just your everyday gang war, attempted terrorist attacks, kidnappings, car chases…” he listed

“See, that all still happens when I’m not around” Steve said, before Danny had the chance to mention the bank heists and drugs trafficking, but still Danny could tell Steve was trying to make light of the situation by the tone of his voice.

“I will now freely admit that, yes” Danny conceded, holding his hands up in surrender, as he had been doing since a month after Steve had left. “Oh, and you get Kono watch next Tuesday, Thursday and Friday evening” he added as they reached the Camaro, and even though he was six months out of practice Danny instinctively went for the passenger door.

Steve was standing frozen in place, with one hand on the door handle before he managed to get out “But I had other plans for Friday evening, ones which involved you”

“Nevertheless” Danny said, failing to disguise the disappointment in his voice, much like Steve, because originally he had something similar in mind himself. “As much as I would love to have you all to myself, I’m afraid we have other things to do”

“What’s Kono watch” Steve reluctantly asked, as they finally got into the car.

“Our last case, it was ugly” Danny began, taking a breath before he went on “Long story short though, is that the Samoans, Russians and Japanese decided that Hawaii was the best place to settle  an ongoing disagreement” he explained, as Steve started to drive “Neutral ground, and all that. Anyway we were checking out a warehouse on Sand Island being used by the Samoans, that’s when Kono got shot” and maybe it wasn’t the best idea to lead with that, because Danny found himself being jerked forwards as Steve slammed on the breaks, asking him what the hell had happened, before he had the chance to say that she was fine and that it was just a through and through to the upper arm.

“I don’t know” Danny began, in all honesty “We thought the building was empty at the time, there had been no activity for days, HPD had the place on a twenty four hour watch, nobody went in and nobody came out for four days. So, on the fifth day we went in to look around for any evidence we could lay our hands on, and oh there was plenty there Steven, enough artillery to wipe out the Russians and the Yakuza. Everyone was underestimating the Samoans compared to the other two. There was too much for us to catalogue ourselves, so just as we’re about to head out to call in HPD and CSU, when Chin and I heard a couple of shots being fired” he said, not that surprised that Steve was letting him speak without interrupting to ask questions, the most he was doing so far was nodding his head and making the odd ‘hmm’ sound as he drove to let Danny know he was still listening. “When we got to where the sound had come from, there’s Kono sat clutching her arm, and this son of a bitch who shot her is lying on the ground with a hole in his chest” he finished.

“That’s our girl” Steve said, with a smile

“Sure is” Danny agreed “but she is in a sling still, and the doctors are saying she can’t go in the water until the wound’s healed to avoid infection” he added

“Ah” Steve replied, finally understanding Danny’s earlier point “So, I’m on Kono watch three times in the next week”

“Afraid, so babe” Danny confirmed “You’ve got to make up the time you missed” he said, not that it seemed as though Steve was going to argue with him in any case. “There is though something else I feel I should warn you about though” he added, with a resigned tone to his voice.

“What, did Jerry get into the classified files?” Steve asked

“No, they’re still safe” Danny assured, but there had been a few close calls in recent weeks. “No, Chin phoned earlier, he and Kono are chasing up a lead on a case that went cold about four months ago. Anyway, when I declined his offer to help, and told him where I was and that I had been waiting there since six for you…”

“You were waiting at the airport for me since six” Steve said in shock interrupting Danny

“Like I said, I missed you” Danny said “And I wanted to be there when you got back. I’m just disappointed I fell asleep” he admitted, glancing down to see Steve’s hand on his knee again.

“I’m just glad you were there, no one’s ever done that for me before” Steve replied

“Well, anyway” Danny said, before things could get more emotional than they already were “Chin is happy for us, or at least he was until he remembered that he owes Kono fifty bucks now and asked me why we couldn’t have waited another two months” Danny explained.

“As does half of Honolulu, I’ll bet” Steve added, with a small laugh.

“So, they know” he asked after a few moments of silence, but he didn’t sound disappointed or upset, just curious.

“Yeah, it would seem so” Danny answered, as they pulled up outside of Steve’s house. That was the thing; Danny had found that Steve was actually a fairly decent driver, if he didn’t have anyone to chase after. “But let’s face it babe, it’s not as if they hadn’t had their suspicions since the day we met” he pointed out, not that either of them could really blame them for it.

“Good” Steve said as he opened the front door. The place was pretty much the same as when he had left it, because Danny had actually been looking after it, despite Steve’s beliefs to the other side during the brief calls they had shared. The only difference now though, was that there was some of Danny’s clothes up in Steve’s wardrobe, and he had claimed the side of the bed he knew Steve didn’t sleep on as his own, because if he was going to be practically living there anyhow, he figured he might as well be comfortable, besides he knew Steve probably wouldn’t mind all that much once he found out. “Because I don’t think I could keep us a secret” he said, pulling Danny towards him.

Danny knew exactly what he meant, because after years of denial and being oblivious to what had been right in front of them, which had been so clear to everybody else around them, meant that the subtle little touches and lingering glances were hardly going to go away, not now that they had finally pulled their heads out of their arses. “You know, the innuendos will be coming thick and fast with Kono around?” Danny asked, jokingly.

“Don’t care” Steve said, kissing Danny who he had pressed against the door.

“Chin’s going to be telling us to get a room whenever we start arguing” he said once they pulled apart for breathe, because that was hardly going to change, Danny would be disappointed if it did. Really though he was just starting to wish they were up in Steve’s room instead of him being pressed against a solid wooden door.

“What, like he hasn’t been for the past five and a half years already?” Steve asked, kissing along Danny’s neck now, as he lifted his chin in order to give Steve better access.

“You make some good arguments” Danny said, out of breathe already, and they’d barely even begun.


End file.
